Accountant Pleads Guilty to Ponzi Scam

MANHATTAN (CN) – A 64-year-old accountant in Westchester County faces up to 70 years in federal prison for running a $2 million Ponzi scheme on his clients. Laurence M. Brown, of Katonah, pleaded guilty fraud and money laundering. Brown, a principal in an Armonk accounting firm, talked at least 10 people to invest more than $2 million into a gas pipeline company of which he claimed to be the president. But he pocketed most of the money, and made about $136,550 in Ponzi payments, prosecutors said. Brown pleaded guilty late last week to wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. He will be sentenced on Nov. 17.